In defense of Disney and Universal opening this morning...
Yes, I know that the "storm of the century" is forecast to hit Central Florida tonight. If you are an annual passholder or local visitor and coming to the parks today, I invite you to reassess your life's priorities. You have no business in the parks right now.
But, unlike Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, and other local attractions, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have thousands of guests stuck in their on-site hotels today. With airports closed and interstates clogged, those guests have no place to go. Caring for those guests is a top priority for the cast and teams at Disney and Universal as everyone prepares to shelter in place.
So why not let those guests get to enjoy a few hours of no-wait time in the parks this morning, before the storm hits and they are confined to their hotel rooms for 24 hours or more? Both Disney and Universal have called in their ride-out crews at this point - the employees who will maintain the parks and hotels during the storm.
This is not Disney and Universal staying open to make a last buck from locals and people staying off site. This is Disney and Universal trying to provide a last little bit of diversion for the out-of-town guests who are stuck there, before they have to endure what may be one of the most stressful nights of their lives.
Employees were going to need to be in the parks anyway this morning to make final preparations for the storm. Ideally, those workers who needed to take care of family at home would not be the ones scheduled for those tasks, and those who had accepted ride-out duties would be doing the work by now. But with all the social media criticism directed right now at Disney and Universal for opening their theme parks this morning, I wanted to offer an explanation of why that might not have been the worst decision in the world.
I agree TH - stuff happens, and theme parks should not be in business to entertain guests because they're stranded in Orlando. Maybe increase the resort offerings if CMs are willing to step in and give guests some pixie dust while the parks are closed, but under no circumstance should a company be more or less forcing CMs/Team Members into work when one of the biggest storms of the past 100 years is barreling into Central Florida. It's callous, shrewd, and completely unnecessary for the parks attempting to cobble together operations for a few hours when the entire region is under a state of emergency.
It sucks that guests are stuck in the area and their vacations are being ruined - we often travel to Central Florida during this time of year (around Columbus Day), and we were there exactly 2 years ago this week, so I understand what it must feel like to have a trip planned right now and have it impacted by a hurricane. However, sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and make the best of the situation, which probably means a lot of Netflix/Disney+ binging. It's certainly better than what life will be like for folks who are directly impacted by the storm and lose more than just a couple of theme park days.
This ... this is not it.
Would I be right in saying that visiting Orlando at this time of year is a bit of a risk. Guests know that weather conditions in October are likely to have an impact on the Parks. Not, obviously, something as catastrophic as a Cat5 storm but rain and lightning.
It's unfortunate that guests who have elected to take that chance to go now can't get to the Parks at all for however long this storm takes to calm but it doesn't compare in any way to the potential horrors faced by everyone in the path.
Disney and Universal are well aware of the threat of closure during bad weather at this time of year so I don't believe that they don't have plans in place to mitigate against their losses.
If it's true that their staff at the Parks stand to lose pay or benefits as a result of this disaster then shame on Disney and Universal.
Why can't theme park fans just face reality? How hard is it for you to admit your vacation is being disrupted by a hurricane and brace for it. To say it gives people an opportunity to escape reality for a few more hours is so delusional and sad. Disney adults need to stop pretending a trip to the theme parks is the same as therapy and just get help lol. So embarrassing.
Sorry but no. Absolutely not. No.
I-4 and I-75 are stacked with evacuees. Gasoline is in short supply. The need to make "dreams come true" sits a distant second to safety and situational practicality.
The unfortunate reality that a guest's dream vacation is undercut by a Cat 5 is not much different than that of a family taxiing back to the gate because it's unsafe to take off in a blizzard.
I can't speak for Universal, but in the past when Disney shut down the parks because of a weather event, the company covered the salaries/income of CMs who were scheduled to work. Forbes reported today: "Walt Disney World announced a number of theme park closures beginning Wednesday because of Hurricane Milton—which is projected to tear through Central Florida—after a Goldman Sachs report released Tuesday projecting Disney is likely to take a nine-figure hit financially from the oncoming storm".
By the way Forbes always dumps on Disney. As a Disney news source they are horrible.
I don't fault Disney for taking a calculated risk to protect their bottom line. I fault Disney for penalizing CMs who call in today, lose hours (pay) and get a point on their attendance record.
As for the claim "Employees were going to need to be in the parks anyway this morning to make final preparations for the storm." Not all employees, sir. Not the CMs who showed up to make a guy from New York's dream come true by loading his butt on to 'Peter Pan's Flight'.
Disney and Universal should've closed the parks, protected CMs and (in the case of WDW) paid Kristin bell to return to Orlando and belt out a couple of tunes for stranded resort guests.